The span over the
East Beltline linking the Calvin campus is a visible reminder that expansion
is taking place at the college. On
May 8 the school will celebrate the completion of that 380-foot structure
(the length of four basketball courts) with a short service of dedication
and a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a walk across the crossing
to the east campus for refreshments.

The service will
mark a construction process that took almost one year exactly from start
to finish. Held at the western
foot of the crossing, on the main campus, the service will include all
three living Calvin presidents: current president Dr. Gaylen Byker;
his immediate predecessor, Dr. Anthony Diekema (president from 1975-1995);
and the man who was president when Calvin purchased the Knollcrest campus
in the 1950s, Dr. William Spoelhof (president from 1950-1975).

Together the trio
will officially open the approximately $4 million span, cutting the
ribbon and leading the first walk across an overcrossing that is unprecedented
in the state. Other participants in the service are college Chaplain
Dale Cooper and college alum Bill DeRose, whose son, Kevin, died in
1989 while a Calvin student in attempting to cross the Beltline (the
only student to die in such an accident).

The senior class
is raising funds for two plaques with the Calvin nameplate that adorn
the two towers and members of the senior class will play a role in the
May 8 ceremony as well.

BACKGROUND
INFO

"There's
nothing like it," says Calvin vice president Henry DeVries of the new crossing.
"It not only will carry people across the East Beltline, it also carries
all of the heating and cooling and communications needs for the East campus from
the main campus."

It
is that second factor that makes the project unique.

"There
are other pedestrian overcrossings in the state," says DeVries, "but
this one doubles as part of our powerplant. That meant significantly more engineering
considerations."

Consequently the
structure is made up of four sections or trusses of structural steel.
All told the steel alone weighs about 150 tons. The floor is five inches
of concrete on top of steel decking with 4,000 to 5,000 sections of
special tiling laid, by hand, on top of that. And then two ribbons of
glass window panes (with each pane each weighing between 125 and 175
pounds) and a metal domed roof enclose the structure.

"It's
solid," says Marty Malek of Wolverine Construction, which is coordinating
the project.

It's
solid and designed for safety, both for the safety of Calvin students and employees
who need to cross the Beltline between the two campuses and also for the safety
of the thousands of cars that pass below it each day on the East Beltline. There
is a sophisticated snowmelt system on the roof to ensure that chunks of snow and
ice do not fall from the roof to the road below. And the entire roof is specially
designed as a domed roof with two layers of steel separated by four inches of
insulation, thus keeping the inside layer warm and the outside layer cold.

In addition all
of the lighting inside the arc, which will be open 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, is both muted and directed straight down, minimizing glare
for drivers on the Beltine. And the crossing is 20 feet above the road
at its highest point, providing plenty of clearance for vehicles.

Although
it passes over one of the busiest roads in Grand Rapids, Calvin architect Frank
Gorman wanted to create a subtle nautical theme for the span. He notes that the
this theme is present inside and outside. For example, the tiled floor, hand-designed
by 1978 Calvin graduate Dave Daining of Beta Design, which at each end sees tiles
in earth tones, browns and greys and greens, but in the middle sees a shift to
water colors, shades of blues. The pattern is intended to depict a transition
from land to water. And that ties together work Gorman did in designing the two
towers of the crossing, one on either side of the East Beltline, to look like
lighthouses.

The
crossing will be a big benefit to the Calvin community. It also will benefit those
who drive the Beltline. That's because the crosswalk and light on the northbound
Beltline, just north of Burton Street, will be eliminated in early June thanks
to the crossing, thus improving traffic flow at the corner of Burton and the Beltline.

The two new buildings
that the crossing will connect with, the DeVos Communication Center
and the Prince Conference Center, are slated to open in September 2002.